Working with children, young people and their families can be considered difficult and complex for many different reasons. However, before these topics can be fully discussed and explored, it is important to fully understand the difference between the words "difficult" and "complex." “Difficult” implies that things are not done easily or promptly, where they require a lot of effort, effort, work and skill to do effectively. Similarly, “complex” implies a difficult situation to deal with, but also involves many interconnected parts or complicated arrangements that consist of emotional attachment. Social work rarely works with an individual, as stated in O'Loughlin and O'Loughlin. (2008); it will involve working with the whole family which is constantly evolving making it complex and diverse. It may consist of parents or guardians who share the same race, class, culture or sexuality, but alternatively it may not. Family members help determine our behavior, roles, rules and stereotypes. In addition to this, people constantly move in and out of the family system through marriage, divorce, or death. These complexities are shown in ecomaps or genograms. It is important to understand that the well-being of the child is paramount, but to achieve positive outcomes for the child, effective work will need to be done within the family. Relationships within a family are known as a system where the family is viewed as a whole, rather than as many individuals. Within family relationships, everyone tries to maintain balance, so if one member tries to change, the others try to resist. However, challenges include maintaining good relationships and knowing the boundaries between professional and personal… middle of paper… children, young people and their families can be complex and difficult. Social work practice is one of the most challenging as it involves working with a wide range of professionals and service users. However, there is more than one reason for this. As all professionals, agencies and parents continue to work together in various different cases, a variety of skills are needed including: communication, preparation, intervention skills, assessment of significant harm, research of current legislation and decision-making skills, which contribute all to the complexity and difficulty of social work. It could be argued that these difficulties are most highlighted in many public cases of child abuse; furthermore, these cases can be considered to be changing social work practice, influencing the difficulties and complexities of working within this profession.